What's Happening

December 23, 2015, Washington, DC – Iraqi Dominican Sister Ban Saeed, OP, and Adrian Dominican Sister Donna Markham, OP, were featured this morning on CNN to shed light on the Christian Iraqi refugees who have fled from ISIS. Watch the interview. YOU can help our ministerial efforts on behalf of the exiled and displaced people of Iraq! Visit www.1000CranesforIraq.org for more information. 

Sister Barbara Cervenka, OP, puts the finishing touches on one of the "1,000 cranes for Iraq" she has committed to paint.

Sister Barbara Cervenka, OP, who initiated the 1,000 Cranes for Iraq fund-raising project, continues to paint one crane each day – even while recovering from knee surgery. “Painting the cranes is particularly meaningful because of the connection to the work and struggles of our Dominican Sisters in Iraq,” she said. 

Sister Barbara added that Dominican Sisters and Associates, as well as the general public, have shown a tremendous response to the project. “People like to find a way to help other people who are in difficult situations, like the refugees in Iraq,” she said.

November 25, 2015, Adrian, Michigan – Are you looking for a meaningful and non-commercial Christmas gift for a loved one who cares about peace and justice? One suggestion is to adopt a crane and receive a painted crane – or a photo of a crane – created by one of our Adrian Dominican artists.

The cranes can be viewed and purchased online at www.1000cranesforiraq.org. They are available for a $100 donation, which will support the refugee relief efforts of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Mosul, Iraq. The website was established on August 6, 2015, on the one-year anniversary of the flight of the Dominican Sisters of Iraq, their families, and other Christian and minority Iraqis in response to the imminent threat of attack by ISIS.

Since January, Sister Barbara Cervenka, OP, has been creating one oil painting per day depicting a folded crane; she intends to paint 1,000 folded cranes. Sister Janet Wright has created water color paintings of actual cranes, and Sister Sue Schreiber has taken photographs of people with the folded cranes. 

The project centers on the legend made famous by a Japanese girl exposed to radiation from the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Years later, Sadako Sasaki died of leukemia at age 12 before she could fulfill her wish of folding 1000 cranes in prayer for health and world peace. Her classmates finished the project.

To date, nearly 145 cranes have been purchased. The project has spawned a great deal of creativity, as well as support and concern for the Iraqi refugees. The cranes have been purchased in memory or in honor of loved ones; for organizations such as parishes, Bible study groups, and Adrian Dominican Mission Councils; and in recognition of weddings and other special events.

To make a donation and select your crane, visit the 1,000 Cranes for Iraq website.